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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. pass — to spend time
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. roll — a list
  5. bark — to shout
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. roll — a cake
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. pass — a permit
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. pit — in a race
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. game — a match
  17. cold — not warm
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. pit — a hole
  20. cold — an illness
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. game — wild animals
  24. game — a kind of play

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com